Hearn traces Japanese civilization to its roots in ancestor-worship, arguing that the household shrine, the Shinto communal cult and the tradition of loyalty explain a nation the West misreads. He moves from the family altar through Buddhism, feudal military rule and the Jesuit peril to the Shinto revival, with Herbert Spencer as his guide.
Books mentioned in Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (8)
Kojiki by O no Yasumaro: “The oldest is entitled Ko-ji-ki, or "Records of Ancient Matters"; and it is supposed to have been compiled in the year 712 A.D. The other and much larger work is called Nihongi, "Chronicles of Nihon [Japan]," and dates from about 720 A.D.”
Nihongi by Prince Toneri: “This custom was abolished, by the Emperor Suinin, about nineteen hundred years ago; and the Nihongi declares that it was then an ancient custom.”
Principles of Sociology by Herbert Spencer: “The vague character of the Shinto hierarchy is probably best explained by Mr. Spencer in Chapter VIII of the third volume of Principles of Sociology:”
First Principles by Herbert Spencer: “Assuming, with Herbert Spencer, that the test of reality is permanence, one can scarcely question this position; it differs little from the statement with which the closing chapter of the First Principles concludes:”
La Cité Antique by Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges: “The author of 'La Cite Antique' cites, among other ancient texts bearing upon the subject, an interesting invocation from the tragedy of Helen, by Euripides:”
Tales of Old Japan by Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford: “There is probably none of my readers unacquainted with Mitford's ever-delightful Tales of Old Japan, and his translation of the true story of the "Forty-Seven Ronins."”
The Soul of the Far East by Percival Lowell: “It has been much asserted of late years (chiefly because of the profound impression made by Mr. Percival Lowell's Soul of the Far East) that Japan is desperately in need of a Gospel of Individualism; and many pious persons assume that the conversion of the country to Christianity would suffice to produce the Individualism.”
Shorei-Hikki: “Among the nobility, in former times at least, the marriage ceremony appears to have been more distinctly religious,--judging from the following curious relation in the book Shorei-Hikki, or "Record of Ceremonies"”
Books that mention Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation (2)
The Japanese Spirit by Yoshisaburo Okakura: “…down to the admirable Interpretation written last year by the late Mr. Lafcadio Hearn, in whose death Japan lost one of her most precious friends, possessing as he did the scholar's insight and the poet's pen, two heavenly gifts seldom found united in a single man.”
Shinto: The Ancient Religion of Japan by W. G. Aston: “The same view is held by some European scholars, notably the late Lafcadio Hearn, whose interesting and valuable work, Japan, an Interpretation, is greatly marred by this misconception.”